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Group Hopes To Break Record With Longest Hopscotch Ever In Detroit

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DETROIT (WWJ) – If you’re walking around the Fox Theater or Campus Martius, you might be wondering why there are more than 22,000 new chalk tiles lining the downtown sidewalks.

As WWJ’s Kathryn Larson explains, it’s because a group of organizations are making their mark on the city of Detroit by creating the world’s largest hopscotch course this Saturday.

Chalking the idea up to inspiration, 22-year-old Ajooni Sethi was finishing up her under grad at the University of Michigan about five months ago when The Wedge Detroit Co-Founder and some friends set out on their mission.

“It’s just putting chalk on sidewalks. We’re not reinventing anything, we’re not doing anything dramatic or drastic,” she said.

Using a ton of chalk and a gallons of a cornstarch mixture, about 100 volunteers have hit the ground hard to make these tile lines stand out.

“The world record currently is 3.4 miles, that’s held in Ontario and that’s what we’re trying to beat. We figured why go for 3.6? We’re going for four,” she said.

The hopscotch Detroit effort engages all walks of life — from those in blue jeans to blue suits — like Michigan’s ACLU Director Michael J. Steinberg, who was just passing through and got into the rhythm.

“Whenever you see a hopscotch set up you’ve got to do it,” he said.

Sethi just hopes her fun-loving message stays as well.

“I don’t know in what other city this could have happened, I really don’t. You know, a community effort like this where people can grab onto it and say ‘Yeah, let’s do it,'” she said.